Giro d'Italia: Masnada wins stage 6

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Fausto Masnada (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec) and Valerio Conti (UAE Team Emirates) gave Italy a "doppio successo" on stage 6 of the Giro d'Italia in San Giovanni Rotondo, with Masnada winning the stage and Conti pulling on the maglia rosa after riding hard for 200km in the break of the day.

The two Italians were part of a 13-rider attack that was allowed to stay away by the peloton after Primoz Roglic was caught up in a big crash and suffered some road rash to his right buttock. He was not hurt but reined in his Jumbo-Visma team on the long ride south into Puglia, allowing the break a moment of glory.

Masnada and Conti attacked on the last and only real climb of the stage with 28km to go, working together all the way to the finish. Masnada kicked hard to win the stage, with Conti finishing just behind him but equally as happy.

Primoz Roglic and the peloton finished 7:19 behind Masnada, so Conti now leads fellow Italian Giovanni Carboni (Bardiani-CSF) by 1:41 in the general classification. Roglic slipped to eleventh overall at 5:24. Carboni's hard work in the break also paid off with taking the best young rider's white jersey from Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana).

Masnada showed his form at the recent Tour of the Alps, winning two stages to Baselga di Pine and Bolzano. He emotionally pointed to the sky as he crossed the finish line in San Giovanni Rotondo. Masnada is known as the L'Anguilla di Brambilla - the Eel of Brembilla' because of the way he moves in the saddle.

"I'm incredibly happy. I knew I was on form but it's always hard to win at the Giro d'Italia but I've done it," he said.

"I want to dedicate this win to my uncle, who passed away just before the Giro d'Italia. I promised to win a stage for him and I did it.

"We knew the break could go because it was a difficult stage to control. I had to play my cards and went in the first break. When it was caught, I knew I had to go again and it worked out."

Conti won a stage in last year's Vuelta a Espana but was understandably emotional to pull on the maglia rosa.

"I'm struggling to understand what I've done," he said.

"As we rode I knew it was possible and I've dreamt about it with the team in last few days but there's a huge difference between dreaming and actually doing it. I felt good and I'm on form this year so I went for it.

"I have to thank the team for all the changes and all the hard work they have done this year. This is a win for everyone in the team. I've got a good lead but I know I've got to keep my feet on the ground. It'll be very difficult, almost impossible to keep it all the way to Verona but I'm going to try to keep it as long as possible." Conti's first test will be Friday's 185km stage from Vasto on the Adriatic coast to L'Aquila in the Apennines.

How it happened

After racing for 140km in the rain on Wednesday, the riders were happy to see the sun out at the start in Cassino as they looked up to the hilltop Abbey. They faced another long day in the saddle, with stage 6 the second longest of this year's race.

The start of the stage was fast and furious with teams sensing that Jumbo-Visma would allow a break to stay away until the finish.

Several early attacks were chased down but then after 15km, Masnada made a move. He was gradually joined by others as a group of 13 riders formed the break of the day. They opened a gap but the peloton seemed ready to close them down, only for destiny to step in after 35km. Roglic crashed with several other overall contenders in the peloton and so the chase halted suddenly, allowing the break to go clear.

Roglic changed bikes and seemed unhurt apart from some road rash on his right buttock and an embarrassing hole in his shorts. He got some medical treatment and a large plaster to cover his wound. All the other overall contenders also returned to the peloton after a show of fair play.

Up front, the 13 riders began to work smoothly together. In there were José Rojas, Andrey Amador (Movistar), Nans Peters (AG2R La Mondiale), Pieter Serry (Deceuninck-QuickStep), Ruben Plaza (Israel Cycling Academy), Nicola Bagioli (Nippo-Fantini-Faizanè), Valerio Conti (UAE Team Emirates), Fausto Masnada (Androni-Sidermec), Giovanni Carboni (Bardiani-CSF), Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ), Sam Oomen (Team Sunweb) and Amaro Antunes (CCC Team).

On the quiet rolling roads of central southern Italy near Campobasso, the break pushed their lead out to five minutes as Jumbo-Visma rode tempo and made it clear they were happy to let the maglia rosa slip away. Conti was best-placed overall, 1:59 down on Roglic and so was the virtual maglia rosa. Everyone else was focused on the stage victory.

On the long flat roads towards Foggia, the wind blow from the riders' left. The break and Jumbo rode in echelon formation but the wind speed and the riders' enthusiasm was not enough to split the peloton. The status quo lasted for over 100km.

As expected the climb up to Coppa Casarinelle, with 30km to go, shook up the race. It was 15km long but twisted up the barren hillside at 4.4 per cent, making it a perfect playground for anyone feeling strong and aggressive.

With 28km to go, Masnada moved first and was quickly joined by Conti. Everyone else marked Amador, knowing he was a real danger but that meant they had missed the move.

Conti let Masnada do most of the work on the climb and they opened a 30-second gap on the rest, as the gradual gradient shook out the break. Plaza was strong but Oomen lead the counter-attack as Team Sunweb looked to make up for losing team leader Tom Dumoulin. However, they chased each other as Masnada and Conti powered on up front.

Jumbo-Visma continued to lead the peloton on the climb but they slipped to more seven minutes behind. It was Roglic's final minutes in the maglia rosa, at least for now.

Masnada was first to the top of the Coppa Casarinelle climb with 18km to go. Conti did an occasional turn but knew Masnada's desire to win the stage was his train to the finish and the pink jersey. They rode together all the way to the finish, with Conti going deep in the final kilometre to gain every possible second, allowing Masnada to win the stage. Both had plenty to celebrate on a successful day out for the home nation.

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